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Why do birds not get electrocuted when they sit on the third rail?
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago
In order for someone to be electrocuted by a live power line or 3rd rail on the train they must also be in contact with ground, or close enough for the power to jump to ground on it's own.
That is also why they can sit on a power wire, the insulators at the poles keep the power from reaching ground.
High voltage transmission lines can be repaired by a helicopter crew. There is a strict procedure to follow though. The helicopter hovers close to the wire and a ground between the helicopter and the wire is established by making contact with the wire through a high voltage probe. Once that occurs, the operator hooks a clamp to the wire for a permanent connection. At this point, the operator can touch the wire and repair it without getting shocked. When done, the reverse procedure is followed exactly.
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago
Wiki User
∙ 11y agoBecause you can only be electrocuted if you are touching 2 wires at once, creating a circuit. Birds are too small to span from one to the other, so they are usually safe. However sometimes possums can be killed from sitting on the wire, they have a long tail and a bigger body, making it easier to touch to at once, to come into contact with more than one is fatal.
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Why can't you get electrocuted during a thunderstorm in a car?
Faradays cage. The electricity runs in the outside of a metallic body. The rubber tires keep you from being grounded. Being grounded is what causes you to be electrocuted. That's why birds don't get fried when they sit on electrical wires!
Why do big birds get killed by power lines but little birds don't?
The wingspan on a big bird is large enough to touch two wires at once. Any difference in voltage between the wires will cause current to flow through the bird, perhaps killing it. Small birds can only touch one wire at a time.
Why don't birds get shocked on high voltage wires?
Birds can sit on powerlines without being shocked because, in order to be shocked, your body needs to be touching both the powerline and the ground at the same time, so that there is a path for current to flow.If birds sit on a powerline, they aren't touching the ground. This means that they will not be shocked.Another explanationTo be electrocuted you not only need a point at which the electricity enters your body but also a point at which the electricity exits your body. Because the birds are only touching one wire there is no place for the electricity to exit, and this prevents them from getting electrocuted.
What happens if someone touches a high voltage wire?
If they are grounded they get an electric shock or electrocuted. If they are not grounded or in simultaneous contact with the neutral wire, nothing. That's why birds can sit on a high voltage wire and survive; they are not grounded.
Why do birds sit together on telephone lines?
For a start, most telephone wires are insulated and carry little or no electricity so, apart from falling off and hurting themselves, they won't get hurt on telephone wires. Really, you should have asked about why birds don't get hurt on overhead electrical wires. The answer is fairly simple really - to get electrocuted from those wires you need to complete the circuit, in this case touch the ground, for the electricity to surge through the body. Birds only sit on the wire and do not touch the ground, so they can't be electrocuted.
Why don't birds get electrocuted when they sit on telephone wires?
Birds fall from the window ledge above mine, flapping their wings at the last second towards a horizontal flight. Due to a construct in my mind it makes their falling and their flight symbolic of my entire existence. If you want to electrocute birds, all you need is a bug zapper, hence the name.
What do you sit on that starts with the letter N?
Birds sit on a nest.
Why do birds sleep while flying?
they sit
Something to sit on starting with n?
Birds sit on a nest. It begins with the letter n.
What are the names of the birds that sit on electrical wires?
crows.
Why birds sits on their eggs?
Birds Sit on their eggs to keep them warm, and to hide and protect them from predetors.
In Tyngsboro Ma can a minor sit at a restaurant's bar with their parent?
No, a minor may be allowed to sit at a nearby table, but not at the bar itself. A person must be 21 to sit at the bar rail.
